The cultivation of the jojoba bean is of increasing economic importance due to the widespread usefullness of the oil contained in the bean. Large scale cultivation of jojoba is being undertaken at a number of locations throughout the world.
One important consideration in determining the viability of a jojoba cultivation project is the cost of harvesting. To date, no commercial harvesting machine is available for this purpose.
It has been proposed to harvest tree fruit, such as citrus, by using a cylindrical array of radially extending tines which are rotated and oscillated in contact with the tree branches for dislodging the fruit. The proposed apparatus employs padded tines and engages only the outer part of the tree at any given time.